Little Orange (Alachua County)

Florida LAKEWATCH Water Chemistry Summary

Location: Latitude 29°34'38", Longitude 82°3'25"

Period of record: 117 sampling dates; January 8, 1989 to December 19, 1999

Surface area (LAKEWATCH): 679 acres / 274 hectacres     Bathymetric Map

Lake Region (Griffith et al. 1997): Central Valley

Geologic formation (Brooks 1981):

The geology is dominated by deeply weathered clayey sand and granular sand of the Hawthorne Formation.

Physiographic region (Brooks 1981):

The water body lies in the St. John’s Offset division of the Central Lake District.

Supplemental, unpublished water chemistry data, University of Florida.

Numbers reported below are the average for 2 months sampled:
 
pH
6.6
 Sulfate (mg/L)
5.5
Total alkalinity (mg/L as CaCO3)
3.4
 Calcium (mg/L)
2.5
Conductance (µS/cm @ 25 °C)
63
 Magnesium (mg/L)
1.5
Color (Pt-Co units)
91
 Sodium (mg/L)
6.0
Chloride (mg/L)
13.7
 Potassium (mg/L)
2.5
Silicon (mg/L)
0.3
    

Long-term Florida LAKEWATCH Data

Numbers reported below are the minimum, average, and maximum value for the 117 months sampled:

 
Minimum
Average
Maximum
Long-term total phosphorus concentrations (µg/L)
21
55
172
Long-term total nitrogen concentrations (µg/L)
740
1010
1570
Long-term total chlorophyll concentrations (µg/L)
3.3
22.1
148.7
Long-term Secchi depth (ft)
1.0
3.6
5.8

1999 Florida LAKEWATCH Data

Numbers reported below are monthly averages calculated from 3 stations for total phosphorus (TP, µg/L), total nitrogen (TN, µg/L), chlorophyll (CHL, µg/L) and Secchi depth (SECCHI, ft) during 1999:

Date
TP (µg/L)
TN (µg/L)
CHL (µg/L)
SECCHI (ft
Jan-17-99
105
880
4.5
2.9
Feb-20-99
120
850
4.0
3.4
Mar-20-99
115
830
6.7
3.0
Apr-24-99
156
1570
148.7
1.0
May-31-99
136
1100
21.7
3.0
Jun-27-99
132
1370
67.0
2.6
Jul-31-99
93
1290
53.7
2.6
Aug-22-99
64
970
34.3
3.8
Oct-31-99
47
880
13.3
4.6
Nov-27-99
43
800
20.0
4.8
Dec-19-99
40
750
16.7
5.0
         
1999 Average
95
1030
35.5
3.3

Little Orange (Alachua County)

Florida LAKEWATCH Aquatic Plant Summary

Aquatic plant data collected on June 27, 1991

Percent area covered with aquatic vegetation (PAC, %)
6
Percent of lake's volume filled with vegetation (PVI, %)
2
Average emergent plant biomass (kg wet wt/m2)
1.3
Average floating-leaved plant biomass (kg wet wt/m2)
0.4
Average submersed plant biomass (kg wet wt/m2)
0.2
Average width of emergent and floating-leaved zone (ft.)
46
Average lake depth (m)
2

Frequency that plant species occur in 10 evenly spaced transects around the lake.

Common Name Plant Species
Frequency (%)
pickerelweed Pontederia cordata
90
cat-tail Typha spp.
90
slender spikerush Eleocharis baldwinii
80
water primrose Ludwigia octovalvis
80
para grass Brachiaria mutica
80
smartweed Polygonum hydropiperoides
70
water-pennywort Hydrocotyle umbellata
70
duck-potato Sagittaria lancifolia
50
flat-sedge Cyperus odoratus
50
floating water-hyacinth Eichhornia crassipes
40
jointed flat sedge Cyperus haspan
40
banana-lily Nymphoides aquatica
30
common arrowhead Sagittaria latifolia
20
maidencane Panicum hemitomon
20
water hemlock Cicuta mexicana
20
alligator-weed Alternanthera philoxeroides
10
bladderwort family Lentibulariaceae
10
sawgrass Cladium jamaicense
10
umbrella-grass Fuirena squarrosa
10

Little Orange (Alachua County)

Florida LAKEWATCH Aquatic Plant Summary

Aquatic plant data collected on July 23, 1998

Percent area covered with aquatic vegetation (PAC, %)
4
Percent of lake's volume filled with vegetation (PVI, %)
0
Average emergent plant biomass (kg wet wt/m2)
9.4
Average floating-leaved plant biomass (kg wet wt/m2)
5.8
Average submersed plant biomass (kg wet wt/m2)
0.0
Average width of emergent and floating-leaved zone (ft.)
59
Average lake depth (m)
3

Frequency that plant species occur in 10 evenly spaced transects around the lake.

Common Name Plant Species
Frequency (%)
smartweed Polygonum hydropiperoides
90
willow Salix spp.
90
red maple Acer rubrum
90
duck-potato Sagittaria lancifolia
80
maidencane Panicum hemitomon
80
spatterdock Nuphar luteum
60
pickerelweed Pontederia cordata
60
cat-tail Typha spp.
40
coontail Ceratophyllum demersum
40
buttonbush Cephalanthus occidentalis
40
water-pennywort Hydrocotyle umbellata
30
floating water-hyacinth Eichhornia crassipes
20
common salvinia Salvinia rotundifolia
20
common duckweed Lemna minor
10
alligator-weed Alternanthera philoxeroides
10
slender spikerush Eleocharis baldwinii
10
banana-lily Nymphoides aquatica
10
water primrose Ludwigia octovalvis
10
sawgrass Cladium jamaicense
10
southern water-grass Hydrochloa caroliniensis
10
torpedograss Panicum repens
10
red root Lachnanthes caroliniana
10
bald cypress Taxodium distichum
10

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